Height measuring device



Aug. 25, 1931. B. w. cuRRY HEIGHT MEASURING DEVICE Filed Aug. 27, 1928Patented 25, 19731 Y' UNITED; STAT1351,A

rPATE:Nr vfol-Fic-liy BE'NJAMINYW. cUImY, oF vIsAIIA, CALIFORNIAIIEIGH'IMEASURING DEvIcn n Appiicatin med'nugust 27,1928. 'serialNaeaerfe.

This invention has tof'do with a device or instrument :for use in'measuring the height of obgects and itis an' object of the invenltion toprovidea simple, convenient and timber itis ydesirable to haven a1fairlyfaccu-`v rate idea as to the height of thetrees as well .as theirnumber; farmers and others voften yvish Vto know the height of highpoints of land or of water sheds, while public utilities corporationsand other organizations having large numbers of poles lind` itadvisable" to make `periodic surveys of the poles, which 20 surveysrequire measuring the height yof the l.po-les.

.Itiswell known, of course, that surveying instruments and othercomplicated and more y i 14 at the forward endof the body, and an ,e

or less expensive equipment are available for measuringoperations suchlas I have referred to. The ordinary instruments that are avail-4 y yadapted to be arranged vin a horizontal posi- `tion and in practice ispreferablyformed of a block' or body `of wood. vThe body is pro-` ableare rather expensive and dilficult to `handle and are onlyuseful in theyhands of skilled operato-rs. V- n 'It is an object of my presentinvention to providea -height measuring instrument or device Wliichcanbei operated to measure the height of obj ects-without the exercise ofgreat skill and Without making calculations requiring a knowledge of thehigher y branches of mathematics.: ,n

It is an object ofthis invention to provide device vofthe charactermentioned which yis simple and convenient to transportY and handle, thusmaking it particularly suited for uses such as I have suggested.

It is a further object'of this invention to provide aninstrument of thecharacter mentioned which can be easily and cheaply man-V ufactured andwhich isfree of delicate adjustments or paitsliafble` to fail or become"inoperative. l

rIhe various objects and Ieatures of my indicated byi line 5`5 on- Fig.v2,and'I1`ig. 6 f is a vertical view'taken as indicated byfline 05 tionof-.a typical form applicationofthe l invention, throughout whichdescription I ,refer tothe accompanying drawings, in which: f i y v v YFig.; 1 isa side elevationof the instrument '55 provided by myinvention. Fig2 is a plan vview ofv the instrument.L Fig. 3 `is* an end.elevation of the instrument vkbeing a AView showing the rear end' ofthey instrumentas yindicated -by line 3*?) on Fig; 1. F ig. 4 is i6l) anenlarged detailed plan section taken as l indicated by line'l-llc onFig. 1'. `Fig.j5 is an'enlarged vertical sectional view taken as (S4-6on Fig. 1. v

The instrument comprises, generally, a body 10 forming a "carrier orframed for various other parts of the instrument, a

mounting or vsupport 11 for the body means "70 l2 for facilitatingarrangement of vthe. body in a horizontal position, a sight l'at" therear end of the body 10, an adjustables'cale j adjusting means 15V foroperating the scale. {75

The y.body l0 is an elongated ,member vided intermediate itsends,fpreferably half 90 way'betwe'en its ends, with a dow'vnvvardlyprojecting-#flange 16y to facilitate' connection Vbetween the bodyandthe vsupport 11.* The support l1 vmay be any suitable type or 'formvof means whereby the bodycanfbev 85' adjustable legsv 18. The headl'?ofthe tri- 90 -r j pod is providedwith a bracket 19-to receive theflange on the body anda clamping screw y2O is provided for connectingthe flange 'and bracket, as shown in Fig. l' of .the drawings. l Thebracket 19 is adjustably and pivotally 95 j Y.

mounted onfthe head 17^by' a bolt 19a pro' vided with a Wingnut 19h. Y iy The' means l2 provided fory levelling `or* positioning the body l0maybe any'suitable' form of levelling device it being preferred m0 toprovide the device with a simple spirit level which can be readilymounted in the body 10, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of thedrawings. In `the particular case illustrated the levelling means 12 isshown applied to the top of the body. It is obvious, however', that itcan be arranged at any suitable point on the body where it will beconvenient.

The sight 13 is mounted at the rear end of the body, and, in accordancelwith the invention, comprises a vertically movable slide 2l having asmall opening or peepdiole 23 and a guidcway 24; fixed to the rear endoit the body 10 and slidably carrying the slide 21 so that it isadjustable vertically. Th guideway 24 comprises a plate screwed orotherwise secured to the end of the body 10, and spaced studs 25projecting from the plate and through a longitudinal slot 26 in theslide 21. Clamp nuts 27 Vare screw threaded on the studs 25 sothat theycan be operated to clamp the slide to the plate thus i setting itagainst movement. The parts are `the peep-hole 23 when mearfairing withproportioned so that the slide 21 can bo lowered to an in or retractedposition where it is even with the end oit' the body 10 and does notproject in a manner to interfere with packing or handling of the device.Y For normal conditions of use the slide 21 is adjusted or movedupwardly to a predeter mined position, for instance until a given part,for example the lower end, coincides with a mark provided on the fixedpart or guideway.V The said mark kmay be distinguished by a suitablelegend, for instance it may be distinguished by an arrow 30 marked onthe plate as shown in Fig. 3 ot the draw-V ings. In practice the slide21 may have a projectingr handle part 31 at its upper end whereby it canbe easily engaged for purpose of operation. Then adjusted to the desiredposition as shown in Fig. 3, the slide canbe set by tightening the clampnuts 27.

The adjustable scale 14 is an elongated member mounted at the forwardend of the body 10 through the adjusting means 15 and adapted to beoperated or adjusted so that its upper portion projects variousdistances above the body 10. In the construction illustrated theadjustable scale 14 is termed ci a strip of sheet metal having its sideedges turned to form flanges 32. An opening of suitable size is formedin the scale at upper end and a transparent body, for instance a glass,34, is held by the flanges 32 to cover the opening. The glass 34; has apointmarked on it as by two intersecting lines 35,. The point ofintersection o1 the lines 35 is thepoint to be sighted throughinstrument. On one side, for example ou the rear side of the scale, Iprovide a series of marks or graduations 36 adapted to coop erate with afixed part such as the top edge and the top of olf the body 10 pastwhich the scale operates. The graduations 36 are laid off on the scale14 in delinite relation to the length or distance between the slide 21and the scale 14 and a predetermined distance that the instrument is tobe spaced horizontally troni the object to be measured. Further, theiudications on the scale may be laid oli' to take into account adefinite spacing ot the instrument above the ground when in operatingposition, for instance it may be presumed that the instrument isnormally placed, say Live feet above the ground.

The adjusting means 15 provided for actuating the scale 14 includes abracket 50 attached the forward end oic tliefbody 'l0 forming a guidewayslidably holding the scale 14 and carrying shaft 51. The bracketl may beformed et sheet metal and may be screwed or otherwise attached to thebody. The shaft 51 extends between opposite sides of the bracket andcarries spaced wheels having pointed teeth 52 for en waging andactuating the scale. One end of the shalt 51 projects from the bracketand carries an operating knob 54.

In accordance with the invention, I provide a lining in the scale lesuitable 'for eooperation with the teeth 52. ln the prefer edconstruction the lining` 55 is clamped or held to the outer or front'face oi the scale 14 by the flanges 32 and is formed o'l' a strip ofheavy fabric, or the like. This construction provides an effective drivebetween the shaft 51 and the scale le so that the scale can be readilyadjusted by operation of the knob 54.

The indications or graduations 36 on the scale lfl be. J laid oil for apredetermined spacing oit the instriunent from the object to bemeasured, the operator first locates the instrument the saidpredetermined distance from the object. Likewise the graduations beinglaid oil ior a given spacing oi the instrument from the ground, theoperator sets the tripod so that the device is at the desired height andthe body 10 level, the level et the body being indicated by the means12. The slide 21 having the sight oper `g 23 then moved upwardly tooperating position, as shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the operator sightsthe top of the object to be measured through the peep-hole and adjustsoperates the scale lfl until .the point designated by the marks 35coincides with a line between the peep-hole the object. The indicationsor gra-duations 36 on the scale 11i will then show directly in feet orother units of measurement the height oit the object 'from the ground.It is obvious that this is simple matter et triangulation in which tlihorizontal distance from the object to th instrument 'Ecrins oneside,the base of' a right triangle-while the height of the obuate or layoff thefinarks 3601i the scale so' that the readings,"l or height, areobtained y directly by merely sighting the top of the obj et as abovedescribed.v Further, itwill be apparent that. verylittle skill ormanipulation enables an operator to use the device in measuring theheight ofl objects Where it isV impossible or inconvenient toV locatethe instrument the predetermined distance from thebase of the object'orWhere the instrument cannot be arranged at the de-A sired ornredetermined height. Such'varia tions, or course, require theapplication of certain simple rules of mathematics, as the correctanswer, or height,` is not obtained direetly'from the readings on thescale 14. Y

When the instrument is not in use, the scale 14 can be removed from themeans 415 and placed in a holder GO .provided longil tudinaily on thevbody, for instancealongr the bottom of the body, as clearly shown in thedrawings. .The holder 60 may havey in- Wardly extendinglanges 61 tosupport the scale 14.

` Having described only typical preferred form of my invention, I do notWish to limit myself to the specific details set forth, but

Wish to reserve to myself any changes or variations lthat may appear tothose skilled in the art or fall withinthe scope of the followingclaims:

I-Iaving describedmy invention, I claim: 1. VAn instrument of thecharacter described including, an elongated body, an adjustable sight ononeend of the body l vmovable toan operating position Where it projectsfrom the body, a support for the bodymovable from a position Where itdoes not'project fromvthe body to operating positiony Where it projectsupwardly@ from the body, avertically adjustable scale on the other endof the body having graduationsfto cooperate'with a fixed part and apointtov be lsighted from ,the sight, lthe scale being detachable fromthe body, means for oper;

ating the vscale including a rotatable part onl the body, a body offabric on the scale,

and teeth carried by the rotatable part to engagethe fabric, and aholder`for thescale carried longitudinally on the bottom of the body.

In Witness vthat I claim the `foregoing I khave hereuntosubscribed myname this first day'y of'Aiigust, 1928.

" n A'BENJAMIVN W. CURRY.

ics

body, an adjustabler scale on the other end of the body, androtatablemeans to adjust the scale, said scale having graduations thereon tocooperate with the body, and also having a point thereon to be sightedrfrein` the sight.

2. An instrument of the character described including, any elongatedbody, a sight on one end of the body movable to operating position Whereit projects from the body, a support for the body, a verticallyvadjustable scale on the other end of the body,v

the scale having graduations to cooperate With a iixed part and havingapoint to be sighted .from the sight, and means for operating the scaleincluding a rotatable part onthe end of the body, a body of fabric onrthe scale, and teeth carriedV by the rotatable part to engage thefabric.

A3. An instrument of the character described including, an elongatedbody, a mounting for supporting the body at a predetermined heioht, asight on one end of the

